A slouchy, beachy hoodie for winter - Burda Young 7148

Hello! At this time of year in Melbourne, I'm not afraid to admit that I practically live in track pants, hoodies and ugg boots. I came across this Marc Jacobs cotton jersey fabric of a really lovely weight and knew right there in the fabric store I wanted to make a hoodie from it to add to my collection.

My aim was to make it slouchy and comfy, for pulling on after work / going out for walks. 

The material was a dream to sew and it was whipped it up in no time. I found the pattern easy to follow which was odd as I had a misconception that Burda patterns are hard to follow. The hardest part was learning how to match up the stripes, but even that I enjoyed. It was nice to make something so practical that I have worn most days since completion.

 

On the day I took these photos, it reached 20 degrees Celsius which was way above average and I was actually a little bit hot in this hoodie!!

 
The details
Pattern: Burda Young 7148 View A with B sleeves
Material: Marc Jacobs cotton jersey (heavy) from The Fabric Store
Alterations: I added an extra 12cm to the length of the body, shortened the sleeves to the length I preferred (to flatter my delicate lady wrists) and lined the hood with the same fabric.
Inspiration / examples:  Zo Sews I was searching for the description of the fabric to write it correctly for this blog and came across Zoe's very nice version in a different colour of the same fabric.
Acknowledgements: The amazing Anneita Anthony of Peninsula Sewing Studio helped me in particular in learning how to lay the pattern pieces to ensure the stripes matched.

Foilage dress

Which way is the wind blowing? Well by the looks of my flyaways, it's a northerly, meaning warm weather is on it's way! Yay! 
I probably shouldn't say this as I know a lot of people rely on rain in our very dry and dusty country, but I was a little miffed to hear that the La Niña weather pattern is returning to Australia. I was looking forward to an endless blue sky sunny summer; a welcome change to overcast humid rainy summers of late in Sydney. Today I am not complaining though as it was a good day to get out onto the roof of our apartment and take some photos of my latest sewing project. 

 This summery knock up is a Vogue pattern V8784 wrap dress, view A, teemed with a synthetic jersey print of big flowers. The bodice is lined with white synthetic jersey also. I got this fabric from the Remant Warehouse in Botany along with a swag of other great cloth a few months ago. The place is the bomb, they have a huge range of quality funky fabrics, the staff are really friendly and helpful and it's all really cheap.

This was quite a learning curve for me, mainly working with this type of material and also adding a lining for the first time. I really like the contrast of the white lining with the green and blue and decided to created a piping effect on the sleeves and facings. 
I cut out a size 14 based on the measurements provided, however it was too big in the bust area and decided to do a 2cm seam allowance along the neck and front edges. I still think it's a bit big in the bust area, so will need to look towards a better fit for the next round. Perhaps I should look at creating muslins? I see a lot of people do this and it does make sense...

 View A is a full skirt as shown in effect here despite a grumpy face. Due to the type of jersey I used, it's quite a heavy drapey dress. I fear that it will start to drop further despite tape being placed in a number of places along the shoulder seams and front edges. I hope to get a summer out of it at least. 

Please stay sunshine and all things warm!